Back for another round!

Hi friends!!

So, I obviously abandoned my blog for quite some time, but I'm back! I spent the past year interning with Cru and [prayerfully] impacting the lives of many students for Christ. I absolutely loved being a U.S. campus missionary and spending every day doing ministry with these college students - so much so that I'm returning to work with Cru for a second intern year!


I'm in the support raising process for this upcoming year and have 14 days till my 100% deadline on Aug. 1! I still need almost 48% of my support, but I'm praying that the Lord would have it in His will to bring it all in before the 1st. ( : If you are interested in learning more about my ministry, leave a comment because I'd love to connect with you and share! You can also check out my ministry page if you feel led to give financially to this ministry!
I'm a little bummed that I abandoned my blog for a year, but I'm excited to keep you updated throughout this year about what the Lord is doing through this ministry!

Along with support raising this summer I've done a couple other things.. I'm taking a New Testament survey course and it's been really great! It's a sweet way to get into the Word and really dig into it since there is additional reading and lectures that cover what I'm reading in Scripture. I've learned a lot already and God is really growing my desire and passion for His Word and learning more about Him through it! Also this summer I got to visit my boyfriend, Andrew, in Fiji! He also works for Cru, but on a campus in Fiji. It was an incredible trip and it was so, so wonderful to get to reconnect with him in person! Only four more months then he'll be back in the states! ( : I'm so excited for that day!

Look forward to more frequent updates and I'll do my best to satisfy your longings to read more about my life.. haha ( ;

Here are a few pictures [you can click them to make them bigger] to let you in on my life from this summer and the past year of ministry. .


[Btw.. the first four pictures were taken by our dear friend Kyle - you should check out that link to his page!]

Andrew and I at a park in Suva, Fiji. LOVE all the colors! Fiji is full of them!

Our friend, Kyle Post, took some great photos of us while I was there!

It was so nice being able to walk next to Andrew again and hold his hand ( :

Dancing is one of Andrew's and my favorite things to do together.  So great ( :

Beautiful Kirsten - Andrew's sister and one of my good friends who I had the opportunity to disciple this year.

Some of the women from my Bible study and myself at the last weekly Cru meeting of the year.

Jesus is alive

Jesus is alive and He is able to help us through everything... Everything from raising thousands of dollars to something as simple as a bike ride.

Support raising was a little discouraging this past week, but the Lord has been so faithful and I've been able to set up so many appointments for the upcoming weeks. With less than one month to go and quite a bit still to raise I need the Lord to provide in crazy ways and I know He will. He is so faithful and is so good. He will get me through this month and to my assignment.

In small (and big) ways He is continually showing me just how faithful He is. The other day I was on my bike ride and on my way back home. I was heading up a hill and struggling just a little to keep up my speed. My iPod was on and the song "True Love" (by Phil Wickham, but this version was by a church worship band) was playing. Right when I started to struggle the part  came on that repeats "Jesus is alive... Jesus is alive... " which I became completely caught up in, realizing how beautiful He is and how good He is and just all those emotions and truths about the Lord that just can't even be expressed in words. I made it to the top of the hill just fine, because He got me over it. Once I reached the top the song exclaimed, "Oh He is alive! He rose again!"

It was so wonderful. I had goose bumps all over and tears in my eyes.

He is SO good and HE IS ALIVE! :)

True Love - listen!! :)

Be Thou exalted, Jesus, forever

A friend shared a song with me that is simple and sweet...

Be Thou Exalted

I've gotten on my blog to post a new entry numerous times since my last one, but just felt like I had nothing of worth to say. I would start it with some comment about Christ then have no where to go...

We must remember we are worthy because He is worthy and lives in us. I'm not always going to have all the answers or know just what to say to make someone feel better/realize something/think deeply, but what I have to say is still of worth, if I'm simply glorifying Him with my words.

So, though this may turn out to be just an update on my life and not an entry about apologetics or deep thoughts that cause everyone who reads them to stop and analyze their lives I think it's just fine. I am living my life to glorify the Lord, so my blog will reflect that then as well.

Lately I've really had the privilege of doing the support raising cycle: letters and calls and meetings and thank-you notes, and let me just say... I've been so blessed. The Lord truly has been providing in such mighty and awesome ways. It's also been so great to be able to share my story and my ministry with so many people.

This Scripture has surfaced about three times over the past four or five months and one of the most recent times it was in regards to raising support for ministry...

Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. - Luke 12:32

A commentary I was reading [Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible] had some beautiful things to say about this passage. Here is just a small segment...

"Fear not little flock... these words are particularly directed to the immediate apostles and disciples of Christ; but are true of all the saints in all ages of time, who are compared to a "flock of sheep," being separated from the rest of the world in election, redemption, and the effectual calling, and being folded together in a Gospel church state; and also for their patience, meekness, humility, and harmlessness..."

"for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom... not only the Gospel, and the knowledge of the mysteries of it; nor the Gospel church state, and a right to all its ordinances; nor only the kingdom of grace, which cannot be moved; but the kingdom of glory: and which is a gift unto them, not obtained by any deserts or works of theirs; nor is their right unto, and enjoyment of it depending upon any such thing: and its their Father's gift, who is so by adopting grace, and through Christ Jesus their Lord; and which He gives according to His sovereign will and pleasure, and with a good will, delighting in them, and rejoicing over them to do them good, both here and hereafter: so that they may depend upon every good thing needful for them both in this world, and in the world to come; nor should they indulge anxious cares or slavish fears."

Just rest in that. Do not fear... he is pleased to have us in His kingdom, adopting us by His grace. He is delighting in rewarding us with His kingdom and providing for our needs. I love thinking about the Lord delighting in me. I love thinking about the Lord rejoicing over me. What does it mean to delight in something anyways? Or to rejoice over something? That may need to be a topic for my next post, as it's already getting quite late here.

So, I guess I ended up not really updating about my life very much, but that's alright. When the Spirit moves, there's nothing more honoring to do than to follow Him!

Hallelujah to the Name of all names
Hallelujah, to God be all praise
Ever holy, worthy
Be though exalted, always
---Be Thou Exalted, New Life Worship

Changes and Blessings

So, it's only been what... three weeks? Sorry, folks. Life has been CRAZY [good].  The dress project ended fantastically. It was really weird putting on just a t-shirt and jeans for the first time in over two months, but definitely reinforced how much I take my freedom for granted. We had numerous people join us the second month, which was wonderful! I love how much word about human trafficking has been generated through SO many people participating in this simple act. Amy Seifert was featured on CNN, which is just wonderful - you should check it out. :)

In front of the chapel

Let's see... I graduated from the University of Dayton - yay!! What a bittersweet time in my life. It was quite the experience and adventure. I had some of the best years of my life and made some of the best friends. And now, I'm on to even more exciting things - interning with Campus Crusade for Christ! this summer I'm raising support and just allowing God to prepare my heart and mind for this upcoming year.


What an exciting time in my life! This is for sure a faith-stretching experience, but oh how blessed I've been throughout the process! The Lord has been revealing so much to me about Himself and my identity in Him. I'm so excited to begin ministering on campus and being a bearer of Christ's message to the students there! (P.S. If any of you would like to know more about my ministry and how you can become invested financially and prayerfully, please do not hesitate to let me know. I'd LOVE to speak with you more about it!)

This is a brief update, but an update nonetheless! Looking forward to blogging more frequently since I know all of you are oh so excited to read about my thoughts on life! ;)

I'll leave you with a quote from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis...

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." 

I may be weak, but Your Spirit's strong in me.

Is it possible to get writers block when writing a blog?

Sorry guys, I'm totally slacking. I just haven't been feeling very "inspired" lately. Which, is pretty silly given that I am a journalism major. I should always want to write, right? Nonetheless... I'm writing now. :)

So, the title of this blog is from this song... Give Me Faith. It's incredible. Go listen to it. :)

The way the Lord has been moving in me is just incredible. Breaking my heart daily for the daughters and just allowing me to grow to desire Him more and more. I've gotten to the point where more days than not I sigh when picking my dress up from the back of my chair.

So, has it really become that? Just a chore? Something to check of a list?
No. I don't think so.
Sometimes I'm worried it has, but then I think about all the victims of human trafficking and I know my heart is breaking for them and if wearing this dress can help others learn about this huge issue and hopefully do something about it, then I'm going to do it.
And I'm going to do it joyfully.

I just talked to a girl the other day that honestly had no idea that human trafficking was so prevalent in the United States, let alone in Ohio.

I talked to another girl who had definitely noticed I've been wearing the same dress for a good three weeks, but didn't want to say anything. I was able to talk with her about human trafficking then and why I'm wearing the same blue dress.

But think about that for a minute... She noticed, but didn't want to say anything. How often do we do that? We notice something is a little off about someone, we think something may be going on, we think that they may actually need help. But, oh no... We cannot, under any circumstance, get involved in someone else's business. If they want help, they'll ask.

Right.

Just like we always reach out to others when we want someone to talk to. I'm not saying that we should intensely question everyone we meet about their life and their circumstances, but what if she is a daughter? What if she is a victim. What if he is a victim. Take time to notice others, human trafficking is happening all around you. 


Sorry, no pictures this post. Most of them from the past week are on my roommates camera. Some are on mine, but I felt the urge to write, so I didn't want to take time to upload them. Perhaps later tonight I will. I was reading some Scripture last night and it was so... awesome. I don't know really how else to describe it. The Lord is just SO good. 


Check out Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. You can read Psalm 22 as though it is David who is speaking, or as if it is you who are speaking, or as if it is Christ who is speaking. In Matthew 27:46, Christ says, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" ("My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?") Which is how Psalm 22 begins. Let me know what you guys think!

I need You to soften my heart. I need You to pierce through the dark and clense every part of me. Because all I am, I surrender. -Give Me Faith, Elevation Worship